One Day at a Time
by DySolo
Summary: L/R DB Series. Number 9. It takes 28 days to break a habit. Spoilers to 2x22


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Title: One Day at a Time  
**Pairing: Lila/Reid**  
**Rating: T  
Summary: It takes 28 days to break a habit. Some Spoilers to 2x19 through 2x22  
****Author's Notes: Ninth in Deal Breaker Series. Follows Safely, Coming Home, Pain in the Past, Lean on Me, Courageous, Aftermath, Sorrow and First Step. Safely is rated definitely M for sexual scenes and doesn't have to read to understand the story. All others are more necessary and not rated as high.  
Author's Notes: I was thinking about adding all the Deal Breaker stories into one story, so it's easier to follow. Would y'all like this or would you rather they continue to be single stories, because they aren't continuous and have time between them (and because some are multi-chapter.) Post your thoughts! **

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It's late at night when the first call comes after the week she spent with him, trying to help him get passed his addiction.

"Hello?" She mumbles.

"Lye?"

"Spence, hey. What time is it."

"2:14 am. I.. I can't sleep. We're working an arson case."

"In San Francisco, I know. I saw the news."

"Right. Arsonists are… they need to set fires and I…"

"You were thinking about your needs?"

"It's been 9 days." He says, softly. "It's hard."

"But you're doing good."

"I… keep thinking about how easy it would be to.. To get something to make it easier."

"Spence…" She sits up, straighter.

"But I know… I know you'd be mad."

"I…" She doesn't know what to say.

"I don't want you to be upset with me."

"I'm not upset."

"You know it takes 28 days to break a habit." He says.

"So…you have 19 more days. You can make it 19 more days, right?"

"I can make it 19 more days."

"And you'll call me, each day, we'll count 'em down together."

She hears him breathe out, shakily. "Yeah, yeah."

"So Day 9."

"Day 9." He repeats.

She turns on the light next to her. "I've been reading scripts for movies. Do you want me to read you?"

"Whatever happened to that one that you really liked? The one with the big director?"

Lila bites on her bottom lip, he's talking about the Christopher Harris movie. "It…uh… it fell through."

"You're lying."

She sighs. "I told you not to profile me."

"I'm not. You don't stumble over your words. You're confident with your speech. You're an actress, you're good with your words."

"Okay. My audition was supposed to be the day you called me. I made a choice."

"Lye…"

"Don't. I made a choice and I don't regret it and I don't want you to worry about it."

"You shouldn't have done that. That was your-"

"I made a choice and I don't regret it. Plus, Linda's given me more scripts and I really like a few of them. I thought you might be able to help me narrow them down."

"Okay." He says, softly.

She picks up the scripts, flipping through them until she finds one that she likes. She starts to explain the plot before reading. She reads the whole first act before she pauses.

"Spence?"

No answer. She stays silent listening to his breathing. It's slow and steady. She smiles, he's asleep.

"Goodnight." She says quietly before starting to hang up. She pauses and puts in on speakerphone, just in case he has a nightmare or wakes up without reason. She sets the phone on the nightstand and continues to read through the scripts.

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Criminal Minds || One Day At a Time

Lila answers her phone while looking at art for Dante's apartment.

"How's my favorite FBI agent?"

"Just got home from working a case with Emily's mother."

"Oh, yeah? That must have been interesting. How are you doing?"

"Good, good. It was a pretty simple case. I mean…..you know."

"I do. Day 18."

She smiles, before nodding at a photograph which Dante makes a sour face at. She rolls her eyes. The man has bad taste.

"Day 18." He says. "I.. I really appreciate what you're doing, Lye. I…You're a good friend."

She pauses. She should be happy that she's his friend, but hearing him say it stings. She still wanted to be more than his friend, but at the moment she knew that this is what was needed. Once he was better, could they be together though? Could she move past her fear? She was starting to think she could. She had to. Wanting to be with him and not because her own fears sucked. Dante was right.

"Lila?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. I'm glad I could help. I gotta go, Spence. I'll call you later, okay?"

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Criminal Minds || One Day at a Time

"I have to take this. Excuse me." She smiles at the casting director. "I'll be really quick. It's really important. I'm very sorry."

The casting director smiles at her as she slips out of the room. "Hey Spence, are you okay? I'm-"

"It's in the woods. We… We have to go in the woods. I can't, Lila. I can't go back there." He's talking fast and frantic.

"Hey, shh, Spence. It's okay."

"I can't, Lila. I can't. I…" He starts to breath heavy. "I need.. It's….I can't do this."

"Yes you can. Hankel's gone and the only way you can continue to get better is not letting him get to you. Day 23, right? We're almost there."

"28 days aren't going to pass and then I'm going to completely better, Lye. I…This… I don't want to go there. I don't want to go to the woods."

"You're right, Spence. 28 days is going to come and it's still going to hurt, but…. We get to 28 days and then we make to 60 days and then, maybe by then it will be better, but I can tell you that it's not if you hide from it. You go on this case and your team saves someone, just like they saved you. You didn't die in those woods and maybe if you don't go on this case, someone will. Do you want that?"

She listens to his breathing. "I… no." he says, softly.

"Have you looked for groups? N.A.?"

"…no."

"Well, how about you go on this case and if you save someone or if someone lives who would have died without you guys, you find a group and you go, that night."

"And if not? If we can't save anyone?"

She bites at her bottom lip. "Well, then, you find a group anyways."

He snorts. "That's not fair."

"Yeah, well…Life's not fair, now is it?" She looks at her watch. She needs to get back to her audition. "Are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah… I have to get to the jet."

She smiles. "Good, good. I'm proud of you, Spence."

"Day 23."

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Criminal Minds || One Day At A Time

On Day 28, Lila calls him.

"Reid." He says.

"Hey Spence. It's Day 28."

"Excuse me." He says to the people around him. There's a pause.

"Hey."

"Are you on a case, I don't want to-"

"We're working on a profile, in case we get called in. We're… sort of. We might have a house cleaner."

She makes a face. "A…okay. How are you doing?"

"Good, I'm good. Really. I.. I've been to a couple meetings."

"A couple?"

"Yeah. I didn't like the first group, so.. I went to another, for cops only. I think that's the one I'm going to go to from now on."

"That's so great, Spence."

There's a long pause and she hears Gideon in the background.

"I have to go. We've got the okay to work the case."

"Alright. Well…I'll talk to you later."

"Wait."

She does, wondering if he's going to say something else.

"I… I have two weeks vacation in a couple weeks… I was wondering if… I'd like to see you."

She smiles. "I'd like to see you too, Spence. I start filming in Vancouver in 3 weeks, but I can come down for a couple days. Or… maybe you can come to Canada with me for a week?"

"I…." He starts, but Gideon interrupts again.

"We'll make details later. You have a case."

"Right, right. Okay. Well… I'll talk to you later then."

"Be safe."

"Always."


End file.
